Changing Fate
by MissShortieBrown
Summary: She left him so long ago. In every sense. Shizuka had long since grown cold and stoic, and was ever unchanging to everything around him. But what if... what if hitsuzen wasn't all it was supposed to be? Doumeki/Oc
1. Prologue: Dream or Nightmare?

**Authors Note: **

**Hello Everyone! I haven't written a fanfic in a long time so I'm a little out of My Author's Note Part. I do have to say for this story in particular I was very inspired to do a Doumeki/Oc because I simply cannot find any completed ones out there! I spent weeks upon weeks writing this story in my head and I feel now I should write it and share it out. I hope I will be able to upload at LEAST 1 chapter every two days, as I want to proofread them and edit them so you receive the maximum reading experience. I tried to break out of the box a little so at times the characters may seem slightly to very OOC. I promise to work hard on this story, and I sincerely hope you will all find the time to drop a review for me, I want to know what you honestly think. **

Disclaimer: I own nothing of xxxHolic except for this story. Owning this wonderful anime and manga is allwonderful CLAMP's doing.

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He hoped to God this wasn't happening again.

"_Ahahahaha! Shi-chan, betcha you can't catch me!"_

Long white tresses pulled up into pigtails cover the young girls face except for her bright cheery smile.

"_Shi-chan let's go to the festival tonight!"_

Her bright pink yukata decorated with sakura blossoms swished in the evening air. The glare of a nearby lantern whited her face out.

"_Shi-chan, hurry up, we'll be late for school!"_

She was running in front of him, her skirt swishing from the rapid pace, her schoolbag swinging beside her.

"_Hey...Shi...chan..."_

Her long white dress. Cream colored sandals. Floppy white hat. Crystal tears running down her face.

"_I'm leaving. Sayonara Shi-chan..."_

Always the same dream. Always the same nightmare.

Always.

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**Ahhhh...Sorry about the shortness, it is JUST a prologue though. I am currently working on chapter 1, so do look out for that and I hope I've peaked your interest! Please review and thank you!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Detour

Chapter 1 - Detour

**Authors Note:**

**Big shout out to, AllyGatorRawr! 1****st**** reviewer and it made me so happy! I do agree, I've only found one other, but it went on hiatus I assume after chapter 7. I am very determined to finish this story and your reviews help greatly!**

"Ahhhahhhh... Good morning Yuuko-san." Watanuki mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. He walked out to the back porch where Yuuko was sitting, lounging lazily smoking her pipe. The first rays of light were starting to peek over the horizon, and a light mist had settled. Fresh morning dew dripped gently off the broad leaves of the surrounding plants onto the grass. Bug chirped softly from the confines of the city, and the noises of the few early morning cars could be heard out from the street. It was a serene morning.

"Good morning Watanuki-kun. Ah! Is that the delightful aroma of croissants I smell?" Yuuko exclaimed excitedly, her dark burgundy eyes lighting up. She wore a long sunshine yellow skirt and a tight lacy baby blue blouse. She was lounging on the white wicker chair that usually took residence on the porch, her legs dangling off the side of the armrest. Maru and Moro excitedly jumped up and danced in circles around a sleepy Watanuki. Mokona had quite a different idea though.

"GOOD MORNINGGGGG WAAATAAANUKIIII!" he bellowed, his shrill voice cutting the air like a knife. Making a beeline for the tray of freshly baked croissants, he left little time for Watanuki to fully register what happened.

"GYAAAAAAA!" Watanuki shrieked spinning wildly to avoid the disastrous fall of the tray he was carrying. To no avail however. He ended up falling on his face, currently under the attack by a bouncing black pork bun and two giggly girls. Surprisingly enough he managed to hold the tray above his head, and more "coincidentally" enough right beside Yuuko. She daintily picked up a croissant a bit into its crispy exterior. Her eyes lit up as she cupped her cheek sighing in contentment.

"Ahhh...Just what I'd expect from Master Chef Watanuki! Nice and crispy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside." she squealed in delight.

"Hai, hai... thank you." He muttered, picking himself up and dusting himself off. Stretching, he yawned and began to take off his apron. "I'll be off to school, then." He said turning around to leave.

"Watanuki." Yuuko said. He turned around and looked at her. She was delicately finishing off the rest of her croissant while looking at him. "Take the left detour after the shrine today, ne?"

He blinked owlishly at her. A detour? "Why Yuuko-san? Is the road blocked off or something?" he inquired. She just grinned and ate another croissant while biding him a good day. Puzzled, he left before realizing what she said.

"WHO SAID I WAS WALKING BY THAT JERK'S PLACE ANYWAYS!?"

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He sighed as he trudged along towards the shrine. He didn't really want to go by that imbeciles house but he was curious why Yuuko-san had asked him to take a detour. Confusing really, as he had only taken a detour a couple times but it was always the street to the right. He had always thought it'd be quicker to get to school from there anyways. Wrapped up in his thoughts about the why's and the what's that way's he didn't notice anything around him until he felt a bop on his head from a stick.

"Oi."

Watanuki felt his blood boil as he looked at the offending person. "MY NAME IS NOT "OI"!" he exclaimed loudly, swinging the bento, but not too harshly as to not disturb the food residing inside. Doumeki said nothing, except to hold a broom out to him. "I'm not helping!" he shouted.

...

Minutes later, he was sweeping the grounds with Doumeki, grumbling the whole time. "Made a bento...Cleaning...made breakfast...croissants...Cleaningggggg..." he sobbed while rolling around on the ground 'Watanuki'-style.

Doumeki looked at him impassively. "Oi. We're gonna be late if you keep that up."

Watanuki was lying stomach down on the ground when he looked up. "I almost forgot. Yuuko asked us to make a detour on the way to school."

Doumeki nodded, saying nothing and continuing sweeping. "She...wants us to take the left road today. Though I don't know why she-" Watanuki continued, but stopped to look at Doumeki.

He stopped sweeping, and it was though time stood still. The wind gently blew his hair and his head was bowed. The wind chime rung softly. "Do...Do we have to go that way?" he asked his voice not much above a whisper.

Watanuki looked at him oddly. This seemed a little out of character for him. He cleared his throat not knowing what to say. "U-uh, well.. Yuuko-san said..." he trailed off. Doumeki looked at him impassive as ever.

"You mentioned croissants?" he asked deadpan. Watanuki immediately flew into a rage screaming about his gluttony, forgetting quickly what happened, as he walked into his house to change.

10 minutes later he walked out, fully dressed to go to school. Watanuki kept him in his side glance. He didn't seem any different, so what was that about at the shrine? It almost seemed like he was apprehensive to go down this way. Shaking it out of his head, he continued walking. He was surprised he had never gone down this way, the houses were nicer, and everything seemed a little cleaner. It wasn't that much of a difference, but at the same time it was. It seemed to be a much more pleasant part of town. People smiled at them as they went off to work, as they walked their dogs, as they pick up their mail. Not saying the rest of the town was bad, just maybe less enjoyable to be in. Just when he thought he had seen all the niceness there was to see, He happened upon a house that wasn't like the rest.

It was a house of immense proportions. It was made of a rough cut dark grey stone, with a midnight blue roof. The stone itself looked like someone had taken a hammer to it and chipped out random chunks, but its unevenness is what made it beautiful. The roof was curved up at the ends to give it a bit of a pagoda look, with dragon decorations sitting on the ends. It looked to be about 3 or 4 stories high, with the top two levels looking like they housed bedrooms, judging by the dormers that stuck out of the roof. It was a bit of a wide spread house sitting pretty with a bit of forest behind it. The archway of the door was impressive as well. It was a double door made of thick oak and glossed down with a dark stain. Stones were put around the arch to accentuate it, with the symbol of "Demon" and "Spirit" engraved intertwining on the top stone above the door. A white stone staircase led up towards the door, and it was all closed off by a wrought iron gate. Not a tall on by any means, as Watanuki could look over it without too much effort. Focusing on the house, he could see an aura emanated from it. Not a bad one but, it almost seemed...sad. It was as though a cloud of depression, anger, and grief hung over it. Gazing at the symbol, he wondered who could ever want symbols like that on their house and what kind of special meaning it could have.

He jolted slightly when he heard a mewing sound. Looking down he noticed a little grey tabby cat with onyx –coloured eyes. Looking at Watanuki, it yawned and stretched, then proceeded to lick its paw to clean its ear. Watanuki bent down slightly and stretched his hand out. The tabby didn't think twice before nuzzling briefly in his hand and then bounding over to Doumeki where it wrapped itself around his ankles and purred loudly. Looking at Doumeki, he watched the boy visibly stiffen and refuse to make eye contact with the cat. The cat meowed loudly, seemingly demanding attention, but upon seeing it wasn't going to get any, it leapt away.

Not saying anything, Doumeki kept walking. Watanuki followed behind looking to and fro trying to see why Yuuko-san wanted them to go this way. As they started to come upon the main street, Watanuki noticed a small plaza where he had never noticed any before. Looking closely, he noticed there were stores such as a bookstore, a clothing shop, a grocery store, a candy store, and one shop that didn't seem quite open yet. Upon closer inspection he noticed all of them looked quite nice inside. Glancing over at the unopened store, it looked as though it was coming along nicely. Probably a cafe of sorts judging by the table and chair setup and the up-and-coming patio. In all the plaza seemed like an enjoyable place to be and busy as well, but seeing as how they had school soon, they would have to come again another day. He looked over to see Doumeki inspecting the cafe as well.

"We should come back when it's open. It looks like a nice place." Watanuki said, more to himself.

"Hm." Was all the other boy replied.

"I DIDN'T MEAN US TWO! I WAS TALKING ABOUT HIMAWARI-CHAN! WHO'D WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE WITH YOU?" he ranted all the way until they were out of earshot.

Unbeknownst to them, the grey tabby blinked in their direction, opened the cafe door with its nose and scooted in.

**Thank you all for reading, as you can see I do mix a couple Japanese words in there if I feel the English counterpart doesn't quite fit the mood shall we say. Hai means yes by the way. As always drop a review at any point an it is much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 2 - Transfer Student

Chapter 2 – Transfer student

**Authors Note:**

**Thank you again AllyGatorRawr for reviewing! The cat will come into play a little later, but it's wonderful to hear that I'm not OOC-ing the characters. I'm trying to stay as true to their characters as possible while still giving them a bit of my own story-like personality. As for my OC, read on, and in later chapters you might be pleasantly surprised!**

The two boys walked into school on time, which was surprising considering they had taken a detour... and helped sweep the temple, which Watanuki was still bitter about. They both walked into class and grabbed their seats. Watanuki, who sat closer to the window and Doumeki who sat diagonally away, but closer to the back. Himawari slid the door open and waves heartily to the two boys, and pranced over in their direction. Claiming her seat beside Watanuki, she chattered on about her weekend. He fawned over her as usual, and Doumeki stared blankly at the window, slightly unsettled about the detour they took and his lack of sleep.

"...meki. Oi! DOUMEKI!" Watanuki flailed his arm in front of his face. Doumeki turned over to Watanuki. "What?" he asked, trying to get his mind off the morning.

"Ne, Doumeki-kun, you don't look so good. Did something happen today?" Himawari questioned, her index finger under her chin.

He sighed slightly and ruffled his hair (to which the female population in the class swooned happily). "No, just distracted. I couldn't sleep last night." He informed her.

"YOU couldn't sleep? What on earth could an idiot like you have to think of at night to keep yourself awake?" Watanuki muttered darkly.

Without missing a beat, Doumeki replied; "What I want in my bento for the rest of the week."

Before Watanuki could fly into a heart attack of fury, the teacher slid the door open and class commenced. Class itself was fairly uneventful, and going onto second period and creeping towards lunch, Watanuki kept casting glances over at Doumeki. Something was unsettling him; he knew that wasn't the truth earlier. Ever since this morning's detour, Doumeki hasn't been paying attention all day, instead opting to frown at his desk or gaze out the window. Halfway through second period the door slid open and in walked the principal. He didn't close the door behind him, as he walked up to the teacher and had a whispered conversation. By this time the entire class was curious. The principal, seemingly have finished talking with the teacher, turned to the class and spoke, "Good afternoon everyone, I would be most please if you could join me in welcoming a new student into your class. Now, now miss do come in, don't be shy," as he beckoned to the door.

A slight click of shiny black heels echoes on the floor. A click, that rang with such confident steps that there could be no trace of shyness. There was the swish of a longer black skirt, the conservativeness of black tights and the crispness of a long sleeve white button up shirt. Then, it was followed by the stylishness of a black vest, with its gleaming golden buttons and the professionalism of a red plaid tie. A cute beret hanging on the top side of her head led down to wavy honeyed-brown hair tied in a low hanging ponytail. Bright golden eyes peered out from a slight hanging fringe.

"Nice to meet you everyone, my name is Natsuki LaBelle."

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Watanuki, Doumeki and Himawari were all sitting outside for lunch. Watanuki had once again outdone himself with his bento, and they all sat around to enjoy the meal. Doumeki bought juice for all of them and Himawari contributed tamago sushi.

"Ahhh Himawari-chaaaaan, this taste absolutely exquisite!" Watanuki gushed pleasurably.

"Oh no, Watanuki-kun, I simply bought them before school!" Himawari replied, smiling obliviously as Watanuki crashed to the ground.

"Oi. More." Doumeki said, with an expressionless face, holding out his plate.

"MY NAME IS NOT OI!" Watanuki shrieked at him, flapping around.

"You look like a bird that can't fly." Doumeki replied, still holding out his plate.

"SO WHAT?! YOU'RE DOING THIS TO ME AND THERE ARE BIRDS IN THIS WORLD THAT CAN'T FLY ANYWAYS!"

"You look like a bird that's scared of heights." Doumeki replied, still holding his plate.

"WHAT THE HELL-" Watanuki started, but stopped.

They all heard giggling nearby. Turning around, they witnessed the new student sitting beneath a nearby tree, giggling behind her hand. Her back was resting on the strong trunk and her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles modestly. What looked like a bento was open on her lap, but it didn't look like it was filled with Japanese food of any kind.

"Ah sorry! I didn't mean to disturb, I just happen to overhear and you two are quite funny." She smiled shyly, lowering her head.

Watanuki quickly shook his hand by his face. "Ah! No, no, no! No problem at all! We just weren't expecting to see someone in this part of the schoolyard!" Watanuki quickly explained.

Himawari piped up, "Ne, you're Natsuki LaBelle from class this morning!" and as Natsuki nodded smilingly, she continued, "Nice to meet you LaBelle-san! I'm Himawari Kunogi!"

"Nice to meet you," she nodded quietly. As she put her lunch down beside her they heard footsteps and as they looked up, they saw a trio of girls looking down at Natsuki with disgust in their face.

"Ahh look at her. Acting so casually, as though she belongs here."

"Hmm. And did you hear her stupid accent in class?"

"Look at her outfit! Just cause she's not from here means you can wear whatever you'd like?"

"Tch. Look at her. With that hair and that coy look in her eyes, she probably a whore."

"Probably lures the boys in to get whatever she'd like out of them. Pity."

"Go back to France you damn frog!"

"Ugly!"

"Stupid!"

"Pathetic!"

"Slut!"

The three of them shouted hurtful things at her. Their words swirled around her like a never ending vortex of hate.

She did nothing wrong.

Why?

Why was she being tormented?

Natsuki willed herself to look right at them. Slightly taken aback, they frowned. They had expected her to run away crying.

"Ahhhahhh, what's this? 3 little canaries chirping senselessly? What's wrong? Found your way out of the cage? Didn't you know it's not safe out in the big, vast world? Though unfortunately for you it seems like your luck ran out when you happened upon the big. Bad. Cat." She murmured. Her eyes glinted in the sunlight like molten gold, and the corners of her mouth turned up until she seemed to be giving them an unsettling Cheshire-grin. With every word the girls seemed to grow smaller and more frightened.

She closed her eyes and scoffed, and threw something from her lunch at them. It landed on the girl in the middle and she shrieked blue murder before the three of them ran off, presumably to never disturb Natsuki again. Sighing, she turned to give a tired smile to the two witnesses watching in shock.

"I'm terribly sorry you had to see that-" she started, but was interrupted by Himawari.

"Amazing LaBelle-san! You really scared them off! That was super impressive!" she cheered, clapping.

She raised a hand up bashfully, "Please, call me Natsuki. As you heard I'm not from here, so I don't really use my last name. Also that probably wasn't as impressive as it seemed. They pick on me cause I have no frien-" she started but stopped abruptly.

Doumeki had taken a seat beside her and picked an apple slice out of her lunch and began munching on it. Eyes widening slightly, she sighed softly and offered to share her bento. Watanuki came forward yelling about not stealing people's food, and how he ate too much anyways. Giggling, Himawari followed and they all sat together, and shared.

Watanuki looked at her bento and was amazed. "Wow! I know this isn't Japanese food but this all looks incredibly tasty!" He gushed.

Natsuki smiled again, and pointed to the various dishes in her lunch. "I made a cucumber and tomato salad with an olive oil and honey dressing, two slices of leek quiche, some frog legs minus one, half of a baguette that I made with some brie cheese, and some salted caramel macaroons for dessert."

Watanuki was blown away. "You made all this?" he cried. Natsuki nodded.

Himawari piped up, "You can stand up for yourself and make amazing food! You're incredible, Natsuki-chan!"

"Is that what you threw at her?" Doumeki asked, nodding towards the frog legs.

"Eh-heh-heh-heh, perhaps..."she trailed off, rubbing the back of her head.

Himawari and Watanuki laughed, as Doumeki patted her on the head and murmured a "Good job". Natsuki couldn't help but laugh as well. As they packed up and all left together to go inside, Natsuki hung back slightly and watched Doumeki's retreating back. She smiled as she realized no one but her had realized he got up and was standing beside the tree when she was being abused. No one saw the death glare he gave those girls. No one realized that them running away was partly to do with him. No one realized that by sitting with her he gave her new friends.

He still gave her strength by being there.

He was still, a really nice guy.

_Arigato, Shi-chan._

**This chapter took me longer than I expected with work and all but I finally finished! I hope you like my OC, and I look forward to writing Chapter 3! **


	4. Chapter 3 - Her

Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Wow I haven't updated as often as I would like, but I totally blame work and my strained shoulder _ Also maybe a little bit of writers block. Dunno how this chapter will turn out but story development is coming along. A big THANK YOU to my reviewers James Birdsong and Jae. Don't you worry Jae, I have every intention of finishing this story. It's done in my head all in needs to do is come out on-screen. Well without further delay, please do drop a review if you have the chance! I find them very inspirational!**

The rest of the school day seemed to be crawling by. After they had all gone in from lunch they sat at their usual seats in the classroom, awaiting the teacher. Natsuki had taken up the seat beside Doumeki right beside the window. She liked it because though she had a clear enough view of the board, she could still let her gaze wander outside. She proceeded to undo her low-hanging ponytail as she watched Watanuki chatter on to Himawari-chan. She giggled. It really was cute watching him around her, even though Himawari gave off a weird vibe. Natsuki brushed it off as nothing, seeing as how no one else reacted as though anything were wrong.

Running her fingers through her hair, she ignored the looks she was getting from all the other males in the class. She wasn't going to give them the notion she was interested by making it look like she was flirting with anyone. She wasn't the type to be vain enough to call herself gorgeous, but she was never the type either to fish for compliments and say she was ugly. She made sure to take good care of herself everyday – she was a girl after all, but she saw herself as normal. Everyone else however, saw her as exotic. Was being half-French that odd to them?

She glanced over at Doumeki. She could see why all the girls liked him. Subtle golden eyes, hair that fell just the right way making him look roguishly attractive, does archery. He was practically the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. It was funny, she smiled to herself, she didn't think he cared much for his fan club, though it was practically all the girls at Tsuji Academy. Not that she didn't think he was good looking, but a touch too...serious. Natsuki's face fell slightly as she gazed out the window.

_My fault... My entire fault..._

Doumeki was trying and failing spectacularly at not looking at the girl sitting quietly beside him. Not that he was obvious about it or anything, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Perhaps it was because...she reminded him of...her. He shook his head though. It's not as though French, or half-French women were a rare species, LaBelle was still a common last name, plus she looked nothing like _her_. Natsuki had honeyed-brown hair and her eyes were like molten gold. Not like...

Not like the soft, snowy hair, that ghostly shade that haunts his every sleepless night.

Not like those subtly striking bi-colored eyes. One, a bright cat eye green, luminous and sly with the appearance as though a sun had burst behind her pupil, shooting brilliant yellow rays to the edges of her iris. The other was hyacinth, and deep violet color that seemed to shimmer with every turn of her head.

Not like the lighter, softer lilt of an accent in her voice.

No. Natsuki was not her, could never be her. She was charming, shy, a sweet caring soul that could never summon the courage to stand up for herself, giving you a reason to protect her. Her smile lit up her face, and brought gladness to others. She would somehow go out on a Saturday morning with no intention of shopping and always end up with some sort of trinket in her hand from admirers, sweet old ladies and men who were so utterly enthralled with her charisma. She had a smile for everyone, but saved the best of them for him. She was always carrying herself like the royalty she was, though always humble. Wherever she was, was the unmistakable swish of a Victorian dress or the soft caress of her hair. Always with her little parasol in the summer, she looked like a little girl straight out of a painting.

As he glanced over, his hear twisted painfully. No, the girl sitting beside him was nothing like the girl who you could give your heart to and she'd sit quietly until you came back for it. So why did he feel such a tug of familiarity when he ruffled her hair? Why did he feel the wrenching feeling inside to jump to her aid like he always did for _her_?

Perhaps... Perhaps because she looked just like she did on her first day.

The teacher then walked into the classroom and began to teach, cutting Natsuki and Doumeki's musings short.

The rest of the day went on, with no more than a few sideways glances.

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Watanuki was changing his shoes at the end of the day. Running over in his head all the things he needed to make for dinner, he didn't notice Doumeki's presence until he heard the customary "Oi."

He looked up and growled at the boy while a big angry mark pounded on the side of his head. "WHAT." It was a statement not a question, and Doumeki treating it as such started to walk away, knowing Watanuki would follow. Grumbling, he stormed after him, but stopped short when he saw Natsuki at the door. She looked like she was waiting for something. Watanuki opened his mouth to call her name, but stopped when she started to hum a low tune under her breath. He and Doumeki walked up to the door as she opened it and watched her as she walked to the school entrance right before getting to the sidewalk.

A medium-sized cat was waiting for her. It was a different looking cat, being half orange tabby and the other half was grey tabby. It was such an odd mix that passerby's giggled as they saw it. Beautifully pointed ears, a slender, swaying tail. It meowed at Natsuki, exposing sharp fangs and settled its gaze on Watanuki and Doumeki. Two bi-colored eyes focused on them. One, bright electric blue and the other a subtle gold.

Doumeki froze. His eyes widened. It couldn't be possible; he hadn't seen that cat for 6 years.

"Ahhhahh, bonjour Shion! Comment-ça va ma petite reine? A tu eu une bonne journée? Manger quelque chose de delicieuse?" Natsuki cooed, using her French to speak with the cat as she picked it up. The cat, Shion, purred with contentment, rubbing its head under her neck and licking her chin. Natsuki giggled as she gave Shion a scratch behind her ears. Shion meowed a few times and it almost looked like they were having a conversation. She turned and gave the boys a wave and disappeared behind the corner.

"How did... How did she know we were there?" Watanuki asked, not really expecting an answer. They had been being her the whole time, and they never made a noise that would make her assume they were there. He looked over at Doumeki, who was till staring after her.

"What's the average lifespan of a cat?" Doumeki mumbled. Watanuki shot him a questioning glance, "Huh?"

"What's the average lifespan of a cat?" Doumeki asked again louder still looking at the entrance.

"I believe it might be...12 to 15." Watanuki replied, remembering reading it somewhere.

Doumeki clenched his fist and lowered his gazed to the ground. 6 years ago. Plus _she _had it for the 6 years they knew each other. If it was already a grown cat since then... Doumeki frowned as the math wasn't quite adding up. If it was already a full grown cat for 12 years and it had been around for years prior to that hadn't it already lived out its lifespan? He started to walk leaving a stumbling Watanuki to follow him.

Something about Natsuki was throwing him off.

As the rounded the corner at the end of the street a surprising show unveiled before their eyes.

**So I ended up cutting this chapter in half for two reasons; One, I wanted to give you all something to read after having you wait so patiently, two, it's 1:20 in the morning and I have to be up soon :P So I left you with a cliffhanger and I will figure out how to execute the next chapter! **


	5. Chapter 4 – One of her Many Secrets

Chapter 4 – One of her Many Secrets

**Author's Note: Hello, hello everyone! I know I haven't updated in a long time but I blame two jobs, responsibility and falling sick. As well as having the slightest notion of how to continue this chapter. I have the end and middle of the story planned out what is causing me grief is the middle part from start to middle and middle part of middle to end, if that makes sense. Tiiiiny bit delirious from the fever, but I will try my best. Big thank you to my reviewers James Birdsong and Duchess K. I do promise you Duchess K, I am working hard and I am very happy to hear this caught your eye. Please do stick around to read more and that goes for everyone!**

It was... out of the ordinary for sure.

They had seen Natsuki leave and turn the corner off school property. They had seen her holding _one_ cat. As Doumeki and Watanuki rounded the corner, they stared in amazement as she was surrounded by no less, but possibly more than 20 cats. Cats of all different sizes, large and small, colors, solid, tabby, calico, striped, shorthaired, longhaired, no hair, short tail, floppy ears, kittens, pregnant, it was almost too much to keep track of. They had all seemed to appear out of nowhere, and here they were following Natsuki like rows of well trained ducklings. She was walking backwards, facing all of them, calling them each by name and speaking to them in fluent French. Watanuki spotted the tabby from this morning at front and center, while Shion rested comfortably in her arms. The meowing from the cats was not as cacophonous as one would expect; rather it was almost soothing as the each "spoke" in turn. It was an unusual sight, yet it almost seemed to suit her.

As Watanuki studied the cats, trying to catch the names of them out of sheer curiosity, Doumeki studied her face. The smile on her face was gentle yet genuine and she seemed so at ease speaking to them. It was like a mother speaking tenderly to her child, or children in this case. He watched carefully as she would wait patiently for one or two cats to stop meowing and speak in a jovial tone, giving them what looked to be a reply. Watanuki broke the silence with a low murmur.

"They...they look like they're smiling. The cats, I mean. I wonder if she cares for them all." He questioned, not really expecting an answer.

To which Doumeki gave none anyways. He wasn't quite sure himself. Can one person really own that many cats? Unless they were a crazy cat lady, he mused, though Natsuki didn't quite fit that image. He watched as Shion swatted at her hair, watching it sway away and carried on batting at it when it came close. Natsuki only giggled and did nothing to dissuade the bi-colored cat in her arms. He wasn't sure if she knew they were following, or if she had suspected as much. She seemed impervious to the stares and the chuckling and the excited children around her, sparing only a smile their way. He flicked his eyes up to see Shion staring at him unblinkingly. After a few moments he meowed loudly showing his teeth and Natsuki snapped to attention and looked up.

Time stood still for a moment as Natsuki and Doumeki made eye contact. She seemed startled and Doumeki didn't know what to say until they both heard a frightened, stammering Watanuki. Who was looking and pointing over Natsuki's shoulder.

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"Th-th-they're huge..." Watanuki squeaked.

Doumeki's eyes narrowed. "What is?" he growled.

"Th-Three of them. Huge." Watanuki managed out.

To Doumeki, he couldn't see anything. To Watanuki however, they were terrifying.

Immense, monstrous blobs of sickly purple, looming overhead, their shadows oozing all over the ground. They each had one eye, irritated around the edge with a harsh red color. Long, pointed eyelashes, and bloodshot eyes. They were white, with deep red veins running from edge to middle. They bared their dripping fangs, slick with the salivating thought of devouring the unsuspecting human in front of them, and picking off the cats as mere snacks. They each had two arms, longer than what arms should be, ending with a four-fingered hand. They all chuckled darkly, sinisterly. Poor fool didn't even know what was going to happen. They advanced and opened their mouths.

"Natsuki! Move!" yelled Watanuki, as Doumeki was about to run to her. But they stopped dead when she lifted her hands as if conducting an orchestra.

Light, weightless even, her hands outstretched to an equal distance apart, with a slight bend in her elbows. Her eyes were closed, chin up and posture straightened. Her left hand had the palm facing inward and was held slightly higher than the right hand. All of the cats had sat on their haunches, eyes closed. Shion had jumped on her shoulder and manoeuvred himself to sit comfortably. Natsuki exhaled, and brought her left hand down, as if queuing music. Immediately, a low thrum could be heard, resonating lowly. With her right hand, Natsuki lifted it up with her palm facing upward, to bring the volume up. The thrum became louder. It was almost like a purr, but not as soothing. The spirits, whose fangs were inches from her head, stopped dead.

She waved her hand gently from side to side in a sideways figure 8 motion to make the sound gentler. That seemingly pushed the spirits back a little. Perplexity shone in their eye. With her left hand, she queued two different groups of cats at slightly different time, and in a sudden motion made a ring with her index finger and thumb with her right hand and pushed outward. What was once a thrum became a sharper sound, not yowling or screeching but a long melodic meow. The spirits were getting pushed back with such a force they were grimacing. Using her left hand she separated them in 3 groups and queued them all one after the other so there was three sounds. Using her right she made one group hum lowly, like a bass note; group two a softer alto and group three a sharp soprano. Finally she raised her left and right hand, palm up to a loud finale. Shion jumped off her shoulder and leapt towards the writhing spirits with an open mouth, snarling.

In a flash of light, the spirits were gone.

Natsuki brought her hands down, palms facing down to signal the end, crossed her right leg behind her left and took a bow, arms out to the side. Straightening up, she opened her eyes to see an opened mouth Watanuki. One who struggled to find words to describe what he had just seen.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-NATSUKI! HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" he screeched loudly, and in his amazement forgot to use an honorific.

She smiled shyly, twisting her hair around her finger. "Was it that shocking? I apologize for startling you two." she replied to him, looking at the ground.

"Startling?! On the contrary that was nothing short of amazing! Possibly a bit surprising, but I never knew of anyone else that could defeat a spirit like that let alone three! The way you did it was so-so incredible, the way you conducted the cats like an orchestra, and that sound! I'm blown away." Watanuki finished, short of breath. He just couldn't believe what he had seen. She had single-handedly (or almost rather) defeated 3 spirits and all he could do was run away. He wasn't even jealous, just in awe. It took him a moment to realize she was staring at him somewhat closely. Wait. Closely? He dropped his gaze only to realize he had grabbed her hands in his. He blinked.

"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AHHHHHHHHH! G-G-G-GOMEN NA SAIIIIIII!" he screeched blushingly, dropping her hands and twistingly crab walking away from her all the way back to Doumeki. All the cats turned to give him the most accusing stare.

"Baka." Doumeki replied deadpanned. He hadn't seen what happened, but he had caught enough from Watanuki to piece together a story. Even without that, watching her calm demeanor, and her hands light as a feather conducting a symphony of cats was astonishing enough.

As Watanuki turned to give Doumeki a heated reply, they heard a tinkling laugh. Turning they looked at her and watched as it progressed into something much louder, more joyful, to the point where she had to wrap her arms around her stomach. They were confused at why she was laughing, perhaps she found them funny, or maybe Watanuki was just weird, but her laughter was infectious. Soon Watanuki was laughing as well and Doumeki was smirking. The cats seemed overjoyed and lost all calm, organized demeanor and crowded to her, jumping on her legs and nuzzling her. She bent down to pet them, while wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. She stood up again and gave them a big smile.

"Thank you, you two, not only for tonight but for at school today too. I was the new student and those girls were picking on me because the boys were talking about me. It seemed everyone talked at me or about me but never TO me so it was all very lonely. I thought it would take me longer to adjust but you two and Himawari-chan accepted me and that made me very happy. You even stood up for me Doumeki-senpai. It really warmed my heart today." She finished quietly.

Watanuki gave her an easy going smile. "It was our pleasure Natsuki-chan. Besides you're very much welcome to come eat with us every day and you're our friend now, so don't hold back, ne? Just be yourself around us." He replied to her, his smile increasing.

At the word friend, a bell unheard by them rang.

"F-Friend..?" she questioned in shock. At Watanuki's nod, her face broke into a broad smile. Never would she have imagined making friends on her first day.

Suddenly Watanuki heard his name being called. "Waaaaaatanukiiiiiii-kun, you're laaaaate." drawled Yuuko, stepping out from around a corner. She was wearing a simplistic black dress with a laced up back, deep front cut and a high slit up one leg and some white heels. She smiled when she bid Doumeki good evening, and let her gaze wander over to Natsuki.

"Y-Y-Yuuko-san! What are you doing here?" Watanuki exclaimed. It was odd to see her roaming about so late and without Mokona in tow. Waving him off with "just talking a walk", she glided over to Natsuki, and tilted her face up with a finger.

"And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Yuuko asked, grinning with her catlike looks. Natsuki took it all well and smiled up at her, not fazed in the slightest. "Natsuki LaBelle, miss..." she trailed of suddenly confused.

"Yuuko Ichihara, at your service!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around her neck, "You're so cute! You'll fit in just nicely!" she gushed.

Letting go of her, she sauntered over to Watanuki and began to pull on his collar away from the other two. "Come now, Watanuki-kun! You've dallied enough! Dinner time, dinner time! I want a sushi and gyoza platter!" she exclaimed loudly. "Ah!" she exclaimed turning around, "Doumeki-kun, be a dear and escort young Natsuki home pleaseeee!" she called out.

"Hn." He replied, walking closer to her.

"Ah-AHH Yuuko-san! Let go, I'm com- See you tomorrow Natsuki-chan! Be sure to come sit with us!" Watanuki called out as they rounded the corner.

"I will!" she called back, waving. When they couldn't hear them anymore, Doumeki looked down at her. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded, still smiling.

As they walked down the road, lit by streetlamps and the fading sun, all the cats dispersed and Shion sat comfortably on a post, licking his paws to clean himself from his meal. He'd catch up later. Might as well give her some privacy with Senpai. Who knows? Maybe he'll notice her.

**WELL. That took longer than expected, and I wrote most of this by the seat of my pants. PHEW glad to have that done. Hope you guys liked it, and yes I did make the whole "I-I hope senpai notices me" joke. Gomen na sai means I'm so sorry and ne is another way of saying yeah but like as an affirmation. Do take the time to drop a review; I'm quite curious how I did with this chapter. Thank you!**


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